How I Got Into Health Sciences at Queen’s

My grade 11 biology teacher was really passionate about her work, and that passion was contagious. In that class we dissected a pig’s heart. I was grossed out at first, but once I began to identify the different parts of the heart and relate them back to a human heart, it became fascinating. After taking a psychology class the same year and learning how the human body and brain interact, I decided I wanted to study medicine. 

During high school, I volunteered at a rehabilitation hospital in Toronto, where I worked with patients experiencing cognitive decline. I also participated in the STEMBuddies Summer Research Program for High School Students the summer after Grade 12. My group looked at the different ways in which men and women respond to Alzheimer’s treatment. At the end of the program, we wrote a paper and then presented it at an online research symposium and got first place.

I felt pressure to have a long list of extracurriculars for my university applications. I did gymnastics, volleyball, track and field and ultimate frisbee. I was also co-president of my school’s Asian Heritage Association, tutored elementary school kids and taught art lessons. I did have to include extracurriculars for some of my applications, but I don’t think having a long list helped me get offers. In retrospect, I think it would have been better if I had focused more on the things that I actually felt passionate about and forgone all the extra activities.

Since I knew I wanted to go to medical school after undergrad, I researched specific programs that would set me up well for that path. I compiled a list of more than 20, thinking that if I applied to as many programs as possible, I would have a better chance of getting into at least one. I soon realized that applying to so many programs would be expensive and extremely time-consuming. I went to my guidance counselor, who helped me narrow down the list. I applied to nine schools: Columbia, Yale and Colgate in the U.S., and the University of British Columbia, McGill, Queen’s, McMaster, the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta in Canada. 

Queen’s health sciences is hard to get into—it has a five per cent acceptance rate. It wasn’t my top choice, though. I really wanted to go far from home and Queen’s is only a few hours from Toronto, where I grew up. But Ontario’s centralized application system allows you to apply to three schools for the same price, and the Queen’s health sciences program is known for preparing students for med school. Because I was less focused on going there, I didn’t worry too much about the supplemental essay and video interview. I spent an hour one evening preparing notes on experiences that I could pull from, then I logged into Kira, the supplemental platform Queen’s uses. I did a few practice questions, and then started the video interview. I was asked to talk about a time I faced a conflict in an extracurricular activity, then given a few minutes to think about an answer, which I needed to deliver in one minute or less. I spoke about a time I helped my group members resolve a conflict over the distribution of work and focused on how I excel in high-pressure situations. 

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I’m in my first year at Queen’s now, and I see why the program is so highly regarded. The courses are taught using a flipped classroom model, where students learn content outside of class and spend class time doing group work and projects. Doing the work in class with my peers and having direct access to my professors has helped me understand the material more quickly. 

This story appears in the 2026 edition of the Ultimate Guide to Canadian Universities. You can buy the issue for $19.99 here or on newsstands.